


Quidditch in the Rain

by screwgravity



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-30 01:49:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screwgravity/pseuds/screwgravity
Summary: Draco runs from the dormitory after a nightmare, only to have a run-in with Luna Lovegood. He is nothing more than annoyed, and doesn't think much of it. Until these run-ins keep happening, and the two become friends. They are together frequently, but are careful to stay out of sight. But one day, Luna brings Draco for lunch at the Gryffindor table, and Draco is making more friends than he expected. Or, perhaps some are more than friends.





	Quidditch in the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> At first this kind of sounds like Luna/Draco? but they are truly just friends. As this is slowburn, the romance is probably still a few chapters off. I'm not very good at updating consistently, so slow updates are to be expected. As of right now, this is also unedited, so there may be a few mistakes that I didn't catch. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Anyway, please enjoy!
> 
> Edit: This is on hold while I work on something else, I may or may not re-write when I'm done. However, I do apologize profusely for abandoning this. But if you enjoyed this, I'm sure you'll enjoy what I'm currently working on! It's called "Heaven (or Something)" and it'll actually have scheduled updates, so keep an eye out for that!

Draco sat at the edge of the lake, watching the giant squid skim the moonlit waters. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be out of bed, let alone out of the castle, but this year the teachers weren’t nearly as strict on that rule. The nightmares plagued everyone. 

Draco sighed and drew his knees up to his chest. He liked coming to the lake. It was rather calming to watch the inky water lap against the shore, moonlight shimmering on the surface. He found it helped after a particularly nasty dream. 

“The dreams find me too,” came a lilting voice from the darkness behind Draco.

Draco scrambled to his feet, nearly falling over in the process. His rapidly beating heart didn’t calm in the slightest when he turned to see none other than Luna Lovegood, a slight smile on her face. Her hair looked white in the unusual lighting. Draco narrowed his eyes. “What do you want, Loony.”

Luna’s dreamy expression melted into a dramatic pout. “That’s not very nice.”

Blowing his hair up and out of his face, Draco turned to face the lake again. Luna walked up to stand beside him, and after a moment, she laid down on the grass, her hair fanning out around her head. She patted the ground beside her, indicating that she wanted him to lie down too. Draco didn’t lie down, choosing to instead sit next to Luna.

“Look up,” she whispered.

Draco turned his face skyward, and drew in a breath in spite of himself. The stars were scattered across the sky like tiny flecks of paint. The sky itself was so many different colors and shades. Deepest purple, darkest blue, pitch black. Despite having seen the stars and sky many times before, this felt different to Draco somehow. He never really thought about looking up much. He was always focused on what was right in front of him, but he should have considered stopping to look elsewhere from time to time. 

“Beautiful, isn’t is?” Luna’s dreamy voice snapped Draco out of whatever trance he had been in. 

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I have to go.” Draco stood up quickly and started hurrying back to the castle. What just happened? Why was it, with Luna Lovegood of all people, that he had realized such a thing? Maybe the combination of stress and fatigue was really getting to him. Shaking his head, Draco continued through the dark halls of Hogwarts back to the Slytherin common room.

 

-

Dumbledore’s decaying face stared down at him. “There is always a choice, Draco. There is always a choice.”

Draco sat bolt upright in bed, breathing hard, his skin slick with cool sweat. He put his head in his hands. How long would it take for the nightmares to cease? Climbing out of bed, he tugged on a shirt and socks. Once he had his shoes on, he slipped through the dim corridors quietly but quickly. It had been a few nights since the incident at the lake with Luna, and since then he had avoided going back. One, the events that occurred had rattled him a bit, and two, it was Luna Lovegood, Loony Lovegood. Come on. 

When Draco reached the lake, Luna was already there. He took care to sit a few feet away from her. 

“Tonight was another repeat of one of the worst nightmares I have,” Luna’s voice pierced the heavy silence. 

Draco looked over at her, inviting her to continue.

“It’s the one where Ginny is fighting Bellatrix with Hermione again, but this time, Ginny isn’t fast enough. Bellatrix kills her. And all I can do is watch her die. Watch my best friend fall to the ground because there’s nothing I can do to save her.”

To Draco’s complete surprise, he saw a single tear make its way down her cheek before Luna hastily wiped it away. 

Draco turned to back at the lake. After a moment he tilted his head back to look at the stars. “I had another recurring dream too. In this one, I’m watching Hagrid walk up with Harry in his arms, as Voldemort pronounces him dead. Right after, Dumbledore comes walking through the crowd. Except, he’s not the Dumbledore we remember. He’s a decaying corpse, and he comes right up to me and says; “There is always a choice, Draco. There is always a choice.” Then I wake up.”

Luna reached out and lightly touched Draco’s shoulder in consolation before she stood up and padded off into the darkness.

 

-

 

Luna and Draco returned to the lake the next night, and the next, and more after that. Try as he might, Draco couldn’t avoid Luna. She always ended up at the lake with him, and usually managed to trick him into conversation. Before he knew it, he was used to Luna and her antics, and actually considered her his friend. It made him angry at first, but then he realized that he didn’t actually have a lot of friends, and Luna really wasn’t that crazy. Just a little… unusual. He unconsciously relaxed around her, and Luna took notice. She started hanging out with Draco outside of their “nightmare retreats”. They took care to stay out of the way of other students, though, as Draco was nervous to be seen with Luna in the halls. So they found other solutions. Luna took him into the forest to eat lunch and feed the thestrals. Draco stole some gillyweed and they went swimming in the lake. Draco was happier than he had been in a long time. He even let Luna give him a tattoo one night. She told him that she’d done it before, and though it would hurt, he would be happy with the results. They went into an empty classroom, and Luna created a beautiful garden of flowers on Draco’s forearm, covering his Dark Mark. There were lilies, pansies, narcissus, violets, and so many blossoms that Draco didn’t know the name of. It was stunning. When it was done, Draco stood and embraced his friend.

-

 

A few days after Christmas break, Luna asked Draco to eat lunch with her. This was not an unusual occurrence, so Draco agreed. Then Luna leaned over and whispered in Draco’s ear. 

“This is an experiment, so don’t freak out.”

Draco frowned, unsure of what that meant, but followed Luna through the corridors. He froze when he realized they were going to the great hall.

“Luna?”

“Shush. We can’t hide in the forest forever.”

Luna grabbed Draco’s wrist and led him over to the Gryffindor table, where Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville sat. She slid onto the bench next to Ginny, and motioned for Draco to sit as well. He sat. Luna turned to the Gryffindors, who were staring at her. She smiled.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?”


End file.
